Detailed Information

Curriculum Support and Enrichment Programs

Dismissal - Prep Grades 

For all of February, the children in Prep will not attend on Wednesday while individual interviews are conducted. You will be advised of the details at transition.

Emergency Information

In order that the school can make immediate contact with you or your nominated emergency contact should the need arise, you are asked to provide details of home and work telephone numbers, and the name, address and telephone number of a relative or friend who lives reasonably close by and is prepared to accept responsibility for your child. It is obviously very important that this information is kept up to date, so PLEASE ADVISE THE SCHOOL OFFICE, WITHOUT DELAY, OF ANY CHANGES. We are also increasingly using email to correspond with parents, so please ensure you provide a current email address.

Excursions/Incursions

School excursions/incursions play an important part in the educational and social development of your child. These excursions/incursions support and enhance the learning that is happening as part of the regular curriculum in the classroom so it is important that every child participates. 

Due to legal requirements, no child will be permitted to participate in an excursion unless consent/payment on Compass is returned by the stipulated date.

One local excursion permission form will be used to cover all local excursions in the Toorak area - within walking distance. This permission form is included on the enrolment form and is valid throughout your child’s schooling at Toorak Primary School.

Home-School Partnership

It is essential that children know their parents and school staff are interested in their development.  There are a number of practical ways through which parents can make this interest a reality in the eyes of their children.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Listen to your children and talk with them.  Only the family can provide many of the rich experiences, which are the right of every child.
• Develop positive attitudes about, and be supportive of, the school.
• Be alert to the first signs of stress which your child may be encountering through a problem at school. If concerned, make an appointment with the class teacher to discuss this further.
• Show interest in the work your child brings home.
• Provide time, place and the willingness to assist in any schoolwork, which may be given to the child.
• Accept any invitations from the school to attend special events or parent information sessions
• Attending parent/teacher meetings or interviews.
• Contacting the school if altered home circumstances or a changing health pattern could affect your child's performance at school.
• Read the school ‘Newsletter’ that is posted on Compass fortnightly
• Promptly answering written communications (notices) from the school.

Parents and teachers are partners in the education of the child!

• Talk freely about the positives of school with your child.
• Establish routines – bedtime, meal time, television time, and recreation
• Label every item of clothing and have your child recognise their name.
• Model common courtesy and using good manners.
• Encourage your child to have a go, take risks, observe, and comment
• Praise your child’s efforts and encourage confidence to accept new challenges.
• Be aware of the school rules and values so that you can reinforce them with your child.
• Model and teach your child basic road safety and pedestrian safety around the school e.g. using school crossings correctly, wearing seatbelts, exiting and entering the car safely.
• Ensure your child attends school daily.
• If possible schedule family holidays during the school term holidays.
• Ensure that your child is punctual and arrives at school on time each morning.

Homework

Homework is an important component of developing personal learning. Establishing a routine amd suitable location at home helps organisational skills. It should be stressed that homework is not always formal in nature. The school values the support of parents who regularly share reading with their children, make time for homework to be completed and take an interest in their child’s work. Homework is published on Compass under the pencil icon located on the homepage. Click on School Resources then year level.Junior School Council  ***neds supdateing

Junior school council is made 

Library

From the beginning of the year your child will come to the Library every week to nurture and develop their love of books, stories and language.  We will teach students how to care for their own library books at home. Every week, when your child borrows a book, please read it, or talk with them about the pictures.  We have discovered that children who hear many stories are usually the best readers later in their schooling.  Please remind your child to return his/her library book every week so they can borrow a new book.  Lost library books will incur a fee of $20.

Mobile Phones and Smart Watches

Toorak Primary School understands that students may bring a personal mobile phone or smart watch to school, particularly if they are travelling independently to and from school. Students who choose to bring mobile phones or smart watches to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours (with a classroom teacher). Exceptions to this policy may be applied if certain conditions are met. Where a student has been granted an exception, the student must use their mobile phone for the purpose for which the exception was granted, and in a safe, ethical, and responsible manner. 

When emergencies occur, parents or carers should reach their child by calling the school’s office. Personal mobile phone use In accordance with the Department’s Mobile Phones Policy issued by the Minister for Education, personal mobile phones must not be used at Toorak Primary School during school hours, including lunchtime and recess, unless an exception has been granted. Mobile phones are brought to school entirely at the owner’s risk and must be handed to their classroom teacher at the commencement of the school day.

Click here to view our mobile phone policy.

New Students to Toorak Primary School

When a child starts mid-term, we endeavour to make their transition to school as easy as possible. The classroom teacher will introduce your child to the class and assign a ‘buddy’ to show your child around. TPS students are helpful and take care of others.  We encourage your child to join in activities and be confident about the new friends they will make. Please organise a designated place at our school to meet your child each afternoon, especially in the first few days.  If there are younger brothers and sisters to collect ensure they know where you will meet them. 

Playground Supervision

Student safety at Toorak PS is our highest priority and the safe and appropriate supervision of students is an important element of our duty of care to students. Part of this duty is ensuring parents and students are aware of our student supervision arrangements before and after school. 

Before school: School grounds are supervised from 8:45 am to 9 am. Once students arrive at school, they must remain in the school ground.

After school: School grounds are supervised until 3:45pm

Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a before or after-school care program or supervised extracurricular activity).  

Click here for a copy of our school’s Yard Duty and Supervision Policy. This policy includes our school’s student supervision arrangements across the school day, including before and after school.

Privacy

Our school abides by the DE guidelines in regard to privacy. DE and the service providers are bound by the Victorian privacy laws, the Information Privacy Act 2000 and the Health Records Act 2001, as well as other laws that impose specific obligations in regard to handling personal and health information that directly or indirectly identifies a person. 

Toorak Primary School is committed to protecting the privacy of personal and health information. This policy supports the Department's need to collect information and the right of the individual to privacy. It ensures that the Department can collect personal and health information necessary for its services and functions, while recognising the right of individuals to have their information handled in ways that they would reasonably expect and in ways that protect the privacy of their personal and health information. Click here for a copy of our Privacy Policy.

Prohibited Items

The following items are not permitted at school:

• Roller Skates, rollerblades
• War Toys
• Pocket Knives
• Glass Containers
• Chewing Gum
• Water pistols
• Trading cards

Program for Students with Disabilities (DIP)

Toorak Primary School believes in and supports inclusion. Our Leading Teacher – Inclusive Learning supports both Education Support staff and teachers to effectively plan and teach all students to get the best possible outcomes. Outcomes include social and emotional wellbeing, as well as academic success. Students who have been identified as meeting the criteria for Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD) funding, receive additional support in class through Education Support staff.

Reporting Student Progress

Two formal interview sessions are organised throughout the year. At the beginning of term one, an opportunity is provided for parents to inform the classroom teacher of background information about their child that may impact on their learning. It is also a chance for the parents to meet their child’s teacher. No formal assessment is discussed at this time. 

The second interview is used to convey more specific information on each child's progress after the mid-year report in June has been completed.  

Written reports are sent home twice yearly.  A third interview is available, should this be necessary, after the distribution of the December student report. Teachers will contact parents throughout the year should there be any concern with a child’s progress. 

Parents wishing to discuss their child’s progress at other times should make an appointment with their classroom teacher. 

Restorative Justice

Dialogue to Manage Conflict

To the person who has done harm:

Can you tell me what happened?

What were you thinking at the time?

How were you feeling?

What have you thought about since then?

Who do you think has been affected by your behaviour?

To the person who has been affected:

What was your reaction at the time of the incident?

How do you feel about what happened?

What did you think at the time?

What have you thought about since?

How have you been affected?

What has been the hardest thing for you?

To the person who has done the harm:

Is there anything else you want to say?

To each person:

What would you like to see happen to repair the harm?

Is this fair?

Is this realistic and achievable?

To both people:

Is there anything else you would like to say?

I would like to thank you for the way we worked through the issues.

School Culture

Adam Voigt from Real Schools has worked with our staff, students and parents to build a culture in which all students can thrive, learn, succeed and be genuinely happy.  Click here to learn more.

School Dismissal

When school is dismissed at 3:30pm it is expected that students who walk home on their own will leave the grounds immediately and travel to their home. It is accepted that this is the safest time for students to walk home.  To assist the school staff, and to ensure students leave the school safely, please observe the following procedures:

At 3:30pm

Students attending OSHClub will go directly to the hall and students being collected by their parents will line up at their morning assembly points.  Any senior student who is not being collected by parents must leave the school ground immediately. 

At 3:35pm

All students who have not been collected wait with the yard duty teacher.

At 3:45 pm

Any student who has not been collected will be called to the office and placed in OSHClub where the afternoon rate will be charged. Please ensure your child is enrolled in OSHC prior to him/her commencing at Toorak Primary School. OSHClub can be contacted during the school day on 0423 777 185 if you require your child to use the service.  If there is a booking or cancellation after 12pm, a late fee applies.

Students are not permitted to leave the school ground to go to outside pick-up points. Parents are asked to move clear of the assembly area once they have collected their child preferably outside the school ground fence or to Brookville Gardens so that "collected" and "uncollected" students are not confused.  

Leaving the school Grounds during School Hours

Students are not permitted to leave the school grounds during school hours, unless with a teacher or parent. If it is necessary for your child to leave school early at any time, they need to be signed out at the office and accompanied by a parent or a caregiver who is listed as an emergency contact.

School Dropoff

School drop off and pick up times are very busy at all schools. It is recommended that parents park further away from the school where there are no restrictions and take a short walk to school with their child. This option is far less stressful and much healthier. If you are driving to school, there are 2 minute drop off zones (Kiss and Drop) in Brookville Road and Fairbairn Road. 

Drivers must observe the 40kmh speed limit around our school which is in force at all times during the day. Stonnington City Council parking officers/police will randomly drive around the school zone in the morning taking note of cars not abiding by parking/speed signs. It is imperative for the safety of our children that parents drive and park safely and encourage children to use the crossings correctly.

Sustainability Programs

The school is very environmentally conscious and has been involved in a number of programs to promote awareness and to educate students on environmental practices. These include: 

• The installation of underground water tanks to flush our toilets and water our gardens
• The creation of a rainwater garden to filter water
• Student involvement in a Green Team
• Rubbish free Lunch Days and Nude Food
• Chicken coup
• Parents and community members creating and maintaining garden areas

Transition Program - Foundation

Foundation

Children must have reached 5 years of age by the end of April in their first year of school. Enrolment of Preps for the following year is invited each year. Prospective parents are asked to telephone the school office and make an appointment to complete the necessary forms. Parents are most welcome to tour the school and discuss its programs and philosophy with the principal or assistant principal. Tours are conducted regularly in terms 1, 2 & 3 and dates will be advertised on the school website and in our newsletter. 

Evidence of the child's address and date of birth must be produced (original birth certificate, passport) when enrolling. Parents are also required to produce a certificate of immunisation against Measles, Mumps, Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio. A child cannot start school without an immunisation certificate. The school will keep these records. If the child is not immunised they may be excluded from school for a set period of time, in the event of an outbreak of one of these diseases. 

Toorak Primary School is committed to welcoming all our new Foundation students and their families to the school community and to making the transition to school a positive experience for all. The Foundation Transition program traditionally commences in Term 4 in the year preceding school entry. The Program launches with an information session for parents, where the Principal, staff members, student leaders and representatives from the wider school community provide information about school programs and curriculum. This session is supplemented by a comprehensive online information, including ideas to promote student wellbeing, requirements for volunteering in class, uniform purchasing, school payments etc.

Foundation students are invited to attend four separate, hour-long sessions in the prep classrooms. During these sessions, they undertake a variety of literacy and numeracy activities and also have the opportunity to explore the classroom environment and meet teachers, senior student leaders and other students who will start school at the same time. While these sessions are running, further opportunities are provided for new parents to network and mingle. Every year we seek feedback from parents and implement recommendations so our Foundation program is continually evolving and improving to best meet the needs of our community.

Secondary School Transition

Toorak Primary School has a designated transition coordinator to support parents and guardians in identifying and applying for a secondary school.

In April each year, the transition coordinator will send parents/guardians an information pack and application form.   This form must be filled in and returned to Toorak Primary School.

Government Schools

Primary schools identify the designated neighbourhood government secondary school for each Year 6 student based on the student’s permanent residential address in Year 6. The designated neighbourhood school is the secondary school within the closest proximity to the student’s permanent residential address. The website https://www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au/ is used to determine the closest government school to a student’s permanent residence. However, some secondary schools have a designated neighbourhood zone, and a parent/guardian or the primary school's transition coordinator can check that students live within this zone prior to sending off the application form. The primary school will transfer the application form to Government Secondary Schools. All students in Victoria receive confirmation of the successful application of a student’s placement on a set day in August.

Non-Government Schools

Parents must also complete the Government form stating the name of the private/Catholic school they have selected and return it to the primary school. It is then the responsibility of the parents/guardians to apply to non-government schools.

SEALS programs, Scholarship applications, or entrance exams

Selected secondary schools have an entrance exam, scholarships or more able student program (SEALS). To find out about these programs please contact the secondary school involved.

To aid a smooth transition

Toorak’s transition coordinator and Year 6 teachers work with all secondary schools to ensure a smooth transition to Year 7.   This includes communicating about a student’s academic and social abilities, and arranging internal visits from secondary school transition coordinators. All secondary schools will contact parents/guardian after they have been informed about the successful placement of their child and they will inform you of orientation dates and times.

Click here for School Transition Policy

Tutoring Program

Our Tutor Learning Initiative makes sure that children who need extra, targeted learning receive the help they need. Our tutor program provides targeted literacy and numeracy teaching to  selected students. This involves students taking part in small group learning sessions outside of regular class.

Valuable Property at School

It is recommended that students do not bring valuable possessions to school i.e. toys, dolls, games, watches etc.  If a child brings an article for a specific reason, every reasonable care will be taken while the article is in the classroom. However, there is no coverage for loss or damage.  It is generally unwise to have valued or valuable items at school.

Volunteers / Visitors 

Many school programs and events rely on volunteers. Our school Volunteer and Visitors Policies are available on the school’s website and outline the procedures to follow.

Website 

The school’s website (www.toorakps.vic.edu.au) contains mostly static information regarding many aspects of the school. It contains policies, newsletters, subject specific information and much more. Parents can also access the Department’s website www.education.vic.gov.au where a substantial amount of information is held and where you can sign up to receive the parent update online.